Jacob Two-Two
- This article is about the Books written by Mordecai Richler. For the TV series, see Jacob Two-Two (TV series) and for the movies see Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang.
Jacob Two-Two is the central character in a series of children's books, Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang (1975), Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur (1987) and Jacob Two-Two's First Spy Case (1995) written by Mordecai Richler, and Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas (2009) written by Cary Fagan.
Jacob is the youngest child of five and has to say things twice because people don't hear him the first time. Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang has twice been filmed, in 1978 and in 1999, the latter film starring Gary Busey. The titles by Mordecai Richler has inspired an animated TV series produced by Nelvana, and seen in Canada on YTV (English) and VRAK.TV (French), and in the United States on Qubo.
The character is said to have been inspired by Jacob Richler, the author's youngest son. Every character in Jacob's family has the same name as their counterpart in the real Richler family.
In September 2009 Tundra Books, the publisher of the Jacob Two-Two series, released a new fourth book[1] titled Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas. Mordecai Richler had always planned to write new adventures and had started a fourth book before he died in 2001. With the full support of the Richler family, the new book was written by Canadian author Cary Fagan. Tundra will also re-release the previous three titles in the series with new art and covers by Toronto artist, Dušan Petričić.
Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas is the prequel to the first three books with the family sailing back to Canada from England after Jacob's father writes an important novel.
Characters
Jacob Two-Two
- The protagonist of the story, Jacob Two-Two is the youngest child in his family and tends not to be heard. As a result, he repeats everything twice automatically, which is the origin of his nickname.
Mr. Dinglebat
- Jacob's next door neighbour is an international spy, working for CMIST (Canadian Ministry of Intrigue, Spying, and Tattling). Jacob later helps Mr. Dinglebat and his agent Intrepid (a hamster) on top secret missions.
Morty
- Jacob's dad, the writer of the popular "Amazing Ronald" books is said to be based on Mordecai Richler. He's fairly laid back.
Noah and Emma
- Jacob's older twin brother and sister respectively. The two of them are avid readers and wrestling fans, but they don't take Jacob seriously and treat him like a nuisance who can't keep up with them. They form a superhero team known as "Child Power" ("Kid Power" in the TV series) and refer to themselves as Fearless O'Toole (Noah) and Intrepid Shapiro (Emma). They pick on Jacob a lot.
Marfa
- Jacob's oldest sister, who is vain and short-tempered but very smart. While she and Jacob argue a lot, she is proud of his achievements and they care about each other.
Daniel
- Jacob's oldest brother, the epitome of cool in Jacob's eyes. He treats Jacob like a nuisance at times, but also seems to take him more seriously than Noah, Emma, and Marfa. He likes music, especially classics like the Beatles. (See Daniel Richler.)
Florence
- Jacob's mother, who takes everything in stride.
References
- ^ [1] The Return of Jacob Two-Two
External links
- Tundra Books website
- Cary Fagan, Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas, Toronto: Tundra Books, 2009 ISBN 978-0-88776-895-8
- Brian Busby, Character Parts: Who's really Who in Canlit, Toronto: Knopf, 2003. p, 129. ISBN 0-676-97579-8, ISBN 0-676-97578-X